Edit: Thinking about this challenge some more, it should be opened to everyone. I originally thought about it being tackled only after weight loss because it would not seem good to have such a transformation challenge interfere with weight loss. However, now I think anyone should be able to do it even to help with weight loss, as long as you are able to physically and mentally rise to the challenge. I will let you define what this criteria means to you, but I would think it excludes those that are less then 2 months post op. I would probably not attempt it until 5 months post op, but that is just my opinion.

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Transformation is something that may interest some veterans who are done with the weight loss phase of VSG. Losing weight is the beginning of the transformation process to become a beacon of health and radiant energy for yourself and those around you.

I am really a big fan of both transformation programs that the Phillip brothers have spearheaded.

In 1999, bill Phillip created the much revered Body-for-life program that is 12 weeks of intense transformation. Some have trouble extending their success of the 12 week program to the rest of their life, possibly because they jumped in too fast or did not have the mental and physical strength to continue after 12 weeks.

That is where his brother Shawn Phillips came along more recently and created the Strength-for-life program. This program focuses more on developing habits of strength in all areas of physical and mental health. The results gained from exiting the 12 week strength-for-life will be foundational for the rest of your life.

The strength-for-life program includes a base camp phase that is 12 days long. It is important to do this base camp phase before starting the 12 week program in order to set your body up for success. During this time, you focus on rebooting your body.

Essentially,

1. Eat lean, clean and green

2. Drink Water in abundance (no alcohol, sugary drinks, energy drinks, etc, just water)

3. sleep at least 7-8 hours of restful sleep a night

4. Have an attitude of gratitude

5. Recharge with the base camp training plan

As VSG post op, we know how to eat and how to drink water. Try and keep the Protein as lean as possible. Drink as much water as you can, but do not drink the energy or sports drinks ( too much sugar). sleeping restfully will lower the cortisol levels and help the body detox.

The base camp training plan is essentially Training 3 days a week with body weight movements. Do 3 sets of 3 different exercises, pausing for 30 seconds between each set.

Monday: 15-20 reps of push-ups. 3 sets.

Wednesday: 15-20 air squats or lunges. 3 sets.

Friday: 12-15 ab crunches. 3 sets.

If you slip on any of the 5 principles listed above, start over. It is important to get thought the 12 days successfully before moving onto the 12 week transformation. You may see some weight loss and or lean muscle gain during this short reboot. However, the real change will occur over the next 12 weeks.

Here is where I would like to propose a transformation challenge. The challenge will be 12 weeks long and success is defined by achieving a set of clearly defined goals. Make sure the goals are as personal as possible and link them to your feelings.

Create 2 physical goals and one inner strength goal.

For me, I am :

37 years old

5'11"

188 lbs pre transformation (as of yesterday)

Married with no children, a dog, 3 cats and currently provide a place for my brother.

Physical goals:

I will lose 15 pounds of fat, gain 5 pounds of lean muscle and lose 2 inches around my waist by September 1st. I have high energy and soaring confidence.

Mental/emotional goal:

I will have positive energy to share with my wife and brother. We enjoy 1 family activity a week that is not centered around the tv. I will read 2 leadership books and hire a business coach to strengthen my career by September 1st.

Be sure to measure along the way:

Weight

Body fat percentage

Resting heart rate

Blood pressure

Cholesterol

Other

Take weekly photos : front, back and from each profile. Shoot the photos in the same position and location, wearing the same clothes. At the end of the 12 weeks, you will literally be able to see the transformation from week to week.

During the transformation, consider the following eating guidelines:

1. Shoot for macronutrient balance, eating lean protein first.

2. Eat 5-6 x a day, keeping each meal small.

3. Avoid sugar and alcohol

4. Eat your Omega 3s. These really help with inflammation.

5. Get more Vitamin d either as a supplement or being in the sun

6. Eat organically

During the transformation, consider the following strength training guidelines:

1. Monday - Upper body push (chest, shoulders, triceps and biceps)

2. Tuesday- HIIT and abs

3. Wednesday- lower body / legs ( quads, hamstrings and calves)

4. Thursday - upper body pull (back, rear delts, triceps, biceps)

5. Friday - HIIT and abs

6.saturday - circuit (strength, stamina, stretch)

7. Day off - recover and rejuvenate

Train strong and not long.

1. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday should last 33 minutes to 44 minutes

2. Tuesday and Thursday HIIT would be 20 minutes

3. Saturday circuit should be 20 minutes followed by 8-12 minutes of stretching

The strength workouts should be no longer then 4 sets:

Set 1: 12 reps

Set 2: 10 reps

Set 3: 8 reps

Set 4: 8+ reps

For example,

I will be using a pair of dumbbells at home to complete the strength training

Try and be very focused during the strength training. It is the focus that is going to help the most with achieving the transformation. Be progressive and increase the weight from week to week. Make every rep count. Make them super high quality.

HIIT training is far more effective then long cardio training at steady state.

1. Start with 3 minute warm up

2. First interval is 60 seconds at high intensity

3. Second interval is 60 seconds at lower intensity (catch your breath)

4. Repeat 2) and 3) for 18 minutes. No more.

5. Cool down for 2 minutes

For example,

I will be using cross fit training with a PT to complete the HIIT workouts.

On the 7th day, it is a rest day both nutritionally and physically. If you want to eat more calories or have that treat, this is the day to do it before diving into the next week. Each week should be programmatically the same, but should also increase in intensity.

It is important to keep a diary of your training during this 12 week challenge. This will help you with keeping on the program and motivation.

After the 12 week transformation challenge, you will be in a position of strength to set new goals and achieve them.

Good luck everyone!

It's better today! I will use these suggestions for the future! Thanks! Tuesday will be my rest day instead of Sunday. Tonight I'm going to try jillians No Trouble Zones. It's 50 minutes long! Hope I make it. Will report back!

Just got an email that my DVDs won't be in until tomorrow I was so excited! I guess I'll do Ripped in 30 and my goal is to NOT STOP! Not even for one second!

Good attitude on the ripped! Better then me. Bob Harpers "Inside out" is an hour and I am current only 30 minutes through before running out of steam. It is hard!! My goal is to be able to get through an hour of it with 15 lb weights. Currently I am using 10 lb weights. Whew!

Ok well, I did have to stop but didn't miss a single workout. I stopped for about 20 seconds total. I did more than I've ever done and for that, I'm thrilled! Those damn running mans got me!

Great job Nicole. Thanks for posting. It is nice to hear about your success.

You are a winner; I know you are from all your running victory medals. You are a champion!!

if you are getting dizzy' date=' you could trying eating more good carb food that is healthy like bananas / Peanut Butter or those energy squares from nuts.com. Those work REALLY well for giving me sustained energy through both running and strength training. I am not sure what you were eating before your running, before starting this 12 week challenge. Try to ramp up the good carbs and fats. You probably are very well aware of this suggestion being such a long term vet. Slap me with a wet noodle if you feel I am just stating the obvious. Of course, you want to be drinking a ton of Water and only water, all the time (except while sleeping that is). Flush all the toxic stuff out of your body. Giving up sugar will be hard, but I know you can do it. Just stick with it and know the pains are short lived where the gains are going to be very long lived.

These 12 weeks will be hard! Don't give up, push though it. Everyone will have their own version of the program modeled after the guidelines above, but I know if you make it through 12 weeks, you will be strong both mentally and physically. The real mind blowing success will become very apparent in the last phase when you will constantly be "in the zone" and every physical exercise will seem easier and enjoyable. You will love it!

We are all in this together and will find strength in the success of each other.[/quote']

Aw, thanks Fiddleman. U always contribute so positively to VST. The wet noodle slap cracked me up! yes, I'm eating fruits and veggies. I'm also getting at least one serving of grain (half a whole wheat English muffin, one slice of whole wheat toast, corn tortilla, etc). My Protein is at an all time high. I met my water target 2 of 3 days (today is still in progress). I know something's going on with my body. Yesterday I was burning up and I was STARVING all day long. I'm hoping I feel better during tomorrow mornings run. I am supposed to do 5 miles of intervals. I always eat before running, so that's not an issue. I'm holding out for things to right themselves eventually. And I know that ill feel like a million bucks at the end of 12 weeks.

Thanks again!

Ok well' date=' I did have to stop but didn't miss a single workout. I stopped for about 20 seconds total. I did more than I've ever done and for that, I'm thrilled! Those damn running mans got me![/quote']

That's awesome! Ur dedication is infectious. I'm glad to hear that the hip is doing better.

Hey team - here is a beginning shot at the start of my transformation program.

Weight: 188 lb

Body fat %: 17

Height 5'11"

For my accountability, I will try and get photos taken at the beginning of each phase as described above.

[removed photos- going to take better photos]

My goals are listed above, but from a vanity perspective I am after an athletic build: triangle upper body, well defined abs, arms, chest and back.

It took me a while to convince myself to do shirtless photos this morning. Hope they are not too scary (should I use he "no no"for men product????). Lol. What the heck - now I am committed. No turning back I am working on getting more toned almost every day even if the photos are not very indicative of it - I swear!! It s slow progress though. That is why I wanted to start this challenge in order to help everyone (including myself) get motivated about getting strong. Need some motivation from others! Some validation that I am not breaking mirrors with these photos!!

How are you guys doing this week so far?

Great job, Fiddleman!!! How much weight have you lost total? You have no loose skin? This morning I am down 4 pounds! I can't believe I have 17 more pounds to be under 200! I bought some new clothes for work yesterday because everything I have is to big!

180 total lost so far from my heaviest. Started at 360 in May 2012 (335 in July 2nd 2012- day of surgery), down to 178 in February ( month 7) and now back at 188 today. No loose skin really which I believe came from running and strength training after month 5. I am thinking about using some fat burner advertised in men's fitness to try and get the muscles to show more definition. Other photos from recent VST posters are motivating me to get muscle definition, maybe I should eat above my TDEE (still eating 400-500 cal under my TDEE of 2150). I just don't want to put on weight that is not lean muscle. It takes ALOT of work to even eat the calories I eat daily now (1400-1700) when focusing on lean meat and veggies with some good carbs and fats.

Yea, I'd be way too scared to eat that many calories! Plus, it'd be near impossible!

I got my DVDs today!!! I was so excited and did Exhale's 30 Day Sculpt. It is 30 different yoga workouts that are 20 minutes long. I expected it to be calm and easy! Wrong! I was sweating like crazy! But I got through the whole thing!

After I put the kids to bed I'm going to do Jillian's No Trouble Zones. Will report back! Hope I'm not annoying y'all with my updates, I'm just too excited! Happy transforming!

Nope - not annoying Nicole. Thanks for posting. That is super exciting to read about your progress.

180 total lost so far from my heaviest. Started at 360 in May 2012 (335 in July 2nd 2012- day of surgery), down to 178 in February ( month 7) and now back at 188 today. No loose skin really which I believe came from running and strength training after month 5. I am thinking about using some fat burner advertised in men's fitness to try and get the muscles to show more definition. Other photos from recent VST posters are motivating me to get muscle definition, maybe I should eat above my TDEE (still eating 400-500 cal under my TDEE of 2150). I just don't want to put on weight that is not lean muscle. It takes ALOT of work to even eat the calories I eat daily now (1400-1700) when focusing on lean meat and veggies with some good carbs and fats.

I would love to join but I need to gain weight. I see you gained 10 lbs, how does one do that in a healthy way? At 6 mos I was on maintenance and I am struggling to get in 1000 calories a day. I've only been doing spot training, arms, stomach and thighs. I can eat 3 oz of fish or chicken and 1/2 cup quinoa. I am also lactose intolerant (after the surgery) so I have a hard time thinking of good high protien food that has lots of calories! Any suggestions? Also is it too late to join?

I would love to join but I need to gain weight. I see you gained 10 lbs' date=' how does one do that in a healthy way? At 6 mos I was on maintenance and I am struggling to get in 1000 calories a day. I've only been doing spot training, arms, stomach and thighs. I can eat 3 oz of fish or chicken and 1/2 cup quinoa. I am also lactose intolerant (after the surgery) so I have a hard time thinking of good high protien food that has lots of calories! Any suggestions? Also is it too late to join?[/quote']

It is not too late to join!! Your diet sounds really good.

To put on 10 lbs of lean muscle, it took about 2 months of consistent cross fit and lifting as well as eating as many grams of Protein as possible. The guideline is to eat 1 gram per lean muscle weight, but I ate even more then that. I ate almost 1 gram per body weight, about 170 g. I only eat clean diet of Proteins and veggies. No sugars or milk. It is very paleo like. I take 5 g creatine daily to assist growth of lean muscle. My body fat went from 19.5% during the last 2 months to 17%.

I have already dropped another percentage since starting the transformation and lost 2 inches around waist. My weight is still around 185, but at the came time my waist is shrinking and chest, arms and legs are showing more definition since starting transformation 2 weeks ago. My workout schedule is following the guidelines stated above in the original post.

Good luck!